PREP HOCKEY: Tigers left their mark at national tourney

PREP HOCKEY

Pete Hayes, phayes@civitasmedia.com

Published 6:38 pm, Monday, March 21, 2016

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Edwardsville’s Tyler Schaeffer led the USA High School National Hockey Tournament in total points with 15, including seven goals and eight assists in four games. The Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals and finished the tourney with a 3-1 record. less

Edwardsville’s Tyler Schaeffer led the USA High School National Hockey Tournament in total points with 15, including seven goals and eight assists in four games. The Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals and ... more

PREP HOCKEY: Tigers left their mark at national tourney

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RESTON, VA. — In a season of milestones, the Edwardsville High hockey team endured a first it would have rather not experienced on Sunday.

A loss.

The Brookings, South Dakota Rangers hung a 4-2 defeat on the Tigers in the quarterfinal round of the USA Toyota High School National Hockey Tournament in Reston, Virginia. Aside from a pair of preseason losses in invitational tournaments, Sunday’s loss was a first this season for the Tigers.

Especially when it mattered. And it did matter to the tigers and their coach, Jason Walker. But maybe not for the same reasons the casual observer might expect.

“Its tough,” Walker said, “especially when I look at the eight seniors on this team who have meant so much to this program for five years. (Eighth-graders were allowed to compete for varsity spots under previous Mississippi Valley Club Hockey Association rules.)

Not counting non-league tournaments, the Tigers finished 32-1, including their unblemished jaunt through the regular season and MVCHA playoffs. And while their season ended two games earlier than they would have liked, they left an imprint on the national tournament.

“Those seniors have meant so much to this program and helped to make it what it is today,” Walker said.

What the Edwardsville program has become is a nearly untouchable juggernaut in the MVCHA. The Tigers are the five-time MVCHA Class 2A champions. That means the eight seniors have finished each of the last five seasons with a victory and a championship trophy.

Until Sunday. But earning their first berth to the High School Nationals was worth it, according to Walker.

“(Getting to) the national tournament was something we had been discussing for a few seasons,” Walker said. “Alton High made it there (two seasons ago) and, naturally, we wanted to get a shot at it.”

Edwardsville’s Tyler Schaeffer finished No. 1 in total points in the tournament with 15, including seven goals and eight assists. Teammate Tyler Hinterser finished in a three-way tie for second in points with 14, on a tourney-leading nine goals as well as five assists. Carson Lewis also was among the tops in assists in the tourney, dishing out six in four games. In goal, Matt Griffin was in a three-way tie for most wins with three.

Even though the two schools are athletic rivals, Alton High officials helped Edwardsville early in the process and MVCHA president Sheri Henson of Alton delivered the good news to Walker that the Tigers had their invitation.

Edwardsville technically was a representative of Missouri Hockey at the nationals. That’s because EHS is considered to be part of the St. Louis / Missouri area. The bulk of the Illinois invitations go Chicagoland’s way.

No matter to Walker.

“People knew we are from Illinois,” he said. “And I think we played well enough to show we belonged there.”

For the record, Brookings’ season lasted just one game longer than Edwardsville’s The Rangers dropped an overtime semifinal game Sunday night to Edina, Minnesota, 1-0. Edina went on to another Minnesota team, Wayzata, in the national championship game, 2-1 on Monday morning in Ashburn, Virginia.

So what’s next for the Tigers?

“We’ll be back and we want to win a national championship,” Walker said. “We already have that as our goal, along with winning the MVCHA. It won’t be easy, but it’s definitely something we already have on our minds.”